When I spoke by phone recently with Nikki Hill, a burgeoning performer whose music draws heavily from early rock ‘n’ roll and vintage R&B, she referred to herself and husband/bandmate Matt Hill as “music nerds.”

“It can be kind of life-encompassing whether you’re a musician or not,” Hill said. “Just the way someone might collect shoes or paintings or insert whatever weird collectible, there’s something exciting about buying a new record. Or when a friend says, ‘oh, you’ve got to hear this artist that I just heard on YouTube’ or ‘I bought this record at the record store the other day,’ there’s just an excitement that goes with that.

“And when you’re a music nerd, you really get into researching – when you discover musicians – and wanting to know what they listened to or who they influenced or who influenced them. And it just becomes this really cool obsession.”

As a music nerd myself, I immediately noticed the similarity between the title and cover art design for Hill’s full-length debut album, “Here’s Nikki Hill,” and Little Richard’s 1957 debut LP. Just like the Rock and Roll Hall Famer on “Here’s Little Richard,” Hill is seen with her mouth wide open as if belting out a full-blown primal shout.

“For me, the early rock ‘n’ roll and soul and rhythm & blues has got this energy and rawness that I really, really connect with, and it’s something I can’t get enough of,” Hill said. “I just really admire those recordings, and that kind of energy is something (my backing band and I) strive to capture.

“There’s something about the energy of those records and just the style, and that’s what really drew me into it. You know, a lot of times, the lyrics are simple, but by them being simple, it’s like you completely get what they’re saying. And it completely relates to so many people.”

Hill then brought up a few of her favorite music artists.

“I love Little Richard, and I love Otis Redding and Mavis Staples,” she said. “Bon Scott from AC/DC is actually one of my favorite singers, too.”

Although Hill, 29, didn’t start her professional music career until three years ago, she sang gospel music in church as a child.

“Especially with someone like Little Richard and a lot of other musicians from that time, there’s that connection between them starting out in gospel music and seeing that evolve into the rock ‘n’ roll or rhythm & blues or soul that they played,” Hill said. “A lot of the energetic rock ‘n’ roll is so much like the energetic gospel music, and I always thought that was such a cool parallel.”

Hill then mentioned getting to see Little Richard perform last year at Viva Las Vegas, a massive four-day vintage music festival she also played.

“I always loved how flamboyant he was and really still is,” Hill said. “I saw him play last year, and he was wearing rhinestone-encrusted shoes, and it was great. He still has that style and attitude and energy.”

Since Hill, who grew up in Durham, N.C., now resides in St. Louis, I asked her if she’d gotten the opportunity to meet Chuck Berry, who still gives regular performances there. She had indeed and shared an anecdote about it in the print story about Hill that was published in today’s Herald-Journal. (You can read it by clicking the link at the end of this post.)

Hill then spoke about the genius of Berry as a lyricist.

“I always call him the rock ‘n’ roll poet,” Hill said. “Brilliant, brilliant; I mean, he told entire stories. I have no idea how he remembers the words. (My band and I) started performing ‘Sweet Little Rock and Roller,’ because I really wanted to do a Chuck Berry tune. But I was like, ‘man, I really have to think about what song I can dedicate to remembering all the lyrics to.’”

Although Hill has plenty of original tunes that she plays regularly, she also likes to include a few covers in her live performances.

“Part of the show is to get people hip to the covers that you are doing,” Hill said. “Obviously, I want people to remember the show and remember the original tunes, but I also want people to go home and look up Little Richard and Otis (Redding) and Barbara George and really get into that stuff the same way we get into it.”

During our chat, Hill mentioned that she her husband enjoy watching videos of classic rock ‘n’ roll and soul performances. She said that the night before our conversation, she and Matt had watched the 1964 concert film, “T.A.M.I. Show” and episodes of a rare local Memphis, Tenn.-based TV show from the ‘60s called “That Beat.”

“We also watch a lot of the Stax-Volt Revue that was recorded in Norway in the late ‘60s,” Hill said. “That’s a great one, too, seeing people like Sam & Dave. It’s incredible.”

Since she’d brought up AC/DC earlier, I made sure to get Hill to expand on what she digs about the iconic band.

“Bon Scott is one of my favorite singers, and I love Brian Johnson, too, of course,” Hill said. “I love pretty much anything AC/DC ever did. They’re just a real rock ‘n’ roll band. There’s just a lot of influence to take from them.

“Just the fact that they’ve never changed what they’ve done is something I really admire. They know their sound, they play their sound, and they know that they kill it and that they rock it. And I love that they’ve always been just average guys. I mean, they look like the road crew. They look like the guys that would be setting up and breaking down the equipment before and after the show.

“Also, I’m a big fan of rhythm guitar – players like (AC/DC’s) Malcolm Young or (the Rolling Stones’) Keith Richards or (Booker T. & the MGs’) Steve Cropper. That ability to play rhythm guitar is something that’s disappeared a lot over time in (popular) music, and it’s so essential to the groove of a song.”

Given that Hill will perform Saturday in Tryon, N.C., I made sure to remind her that it was the birthplace of the legendary Nina Simone.

“I was going to ask you if that’s where the statue is,” Hill replied. “That’s really cool. I’m a big Nina Simone fan, so it’ll definitely be really cool to visit the statue and check that out.”

Here’s a story about Hill that was published today by the Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com:

About This Blog

Dan Armonaitis has been writing about music since the mid-1990s and has been listening to the stuff even longer. Although most of his favorite records were made before he was born, he is always eager to discover something new.

The primary focus of this blog is to take music fans beyond the entertainment pages of the Herald-Journal, but don’t be surprised by an occasional post about another of his lifelong passions: baseball.

Dan thinks it’s kind of neat that his mother has the distinction of having seen live concerts by Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr. and Hank Williams III and that his grandmother is buried in the same cemetery as Shoeless Joe Jackson.